"More precisely, it's a 'Repulsion Magic Array.'" Gagnor spoke up. Without a doubt, he knew the most about magic among them, although most of the magic he knew was hardly respectable.
"Repulsion Magic Array?" The few rookie mercenaries clearly knew nothing about it, their faces filled with confusion.
Gagnor said, "The Repulsion Array is the most common defensive magic array for defending a city. It uses the city walls and nodes as facilities, maintained by mages and high-level individuals. If the Repulsion Magic Array is operating properly, no enemy can enter."
A mercenary thought for a moment. "So the enemy will destroy the Repulsion Magic Array first?"
"Exactly." Gagnor nodded. "They'll first establish an 'Intervention Magic Array.' Like the Repulsion Array, the Intervention Array is maintained by mages and high-level individuals."
"The Intervention Array weakens the Repulsion Array's effect. Once weakened, the Repulsion Array won't be able to stop every enemy, only some of them." He continued, "Without a doubt, the highest-level attackers will be stopped first, while lower-level attackers can pass through the Repulsion Array and fight the defenders beneath the city walls."
"If the attackers can break through the defenders, they can approach and damage the city walls. The walls are facilities of the Repulsion Array. Once the walls are damaged, the Repulsion Array will be weakened further, creating larger 'gaps in the net' and allowing higher-level attackers through." He pointed toward the defenders below the city walls as he spoke.
"The Repulsion Array sounds a little like the Tidal Lands..." someone remarked.
Gagnor said, "That's right. It's said that the person who created the Repulsion Array, an ancient Blood Elf mage, was inspired by the Tidal Lands."
"So does that mean the outcome of the battle is mainly decided by the high-level individuals?"
Gagnor pondered. "More or less. A war is only worth fighting when the strength of the high-level individuals on both sides isn't too far apart."
"If there are a lot of high-level individuals on Yuris's side, are we doomed to lose?" someone asked worriedly.
Gagnor shook his head. "There shouldn't be many high-level individuals on Yuris's side. Of course, the same goes for us."
"Why?"
Gagnor didn't answer the question.
Based on the information he had, the Battle of Presto seemed to involve infighting within the Mosaism Church—or, more accurately, it seemed to be a microcosm of that infighting.
Since it was internal strife, there would certainly be many checks and balances or tacit understandings. The situation shouldn't devolve into the strong bullying the weak.
Of course, he was merely a minor underling. All this was speculation based on unofficial information. It might not be accurate, and he certainly couldn't spout it carelessly.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Viscount Uris's army arrived as scheduled and reached the city walls.
Standing on the city wall and looking into the distance, Gagnor estimated that the opposing army numbered more than five thousand—quite a bit more than Presto Fortress's defenders.
However, most of those five thousand were cannon fodder. That was obvious from their clothing and weapons. Gagnor had even spotted a few "soldiers" carrying farming tools.
Cannon fodder or not, considering the Repulsion Magic Array's repelling effect, at least during the early stages of the war, the main forces involved would be mid- and low-level combatants. High-level combatants would have no role to play.
Gagnor noticed that Viscount Uris's army had already begun setting up an Intervention Magic Array.
Several carriages, escorted by the army, arrived at various locations outside Presto Fortress. Then, a kind of enormous transparent crystal was unloaded from the carriages.
Nexus Crystals.
Nearly all magic arrays, including Intervention and Repulsion Arrays, required these crystals. Thus, in Falaro's world, Nexus Crystals were an important strategic resource. The larger the crystal, the more important it was, and ordinary people rarely had the chance to see one in their daily lives.
The enormous Nexus Crystals were almost completely embedded in metal bases covered in mysterious markings. The bases tapered to sharp points at the bottom, allowing them to be driven into the ground.
Once the metal bases had been driven into the ground and secured, the magic nodes of the Intervention Array were considered established.
The mages then began casting spells. The magic nodes gradually lit up with colorful radiance similar to that of the Repulsion Array, though they appeared much weaker.
The situation soon changed.
The high-level individuals on Yuris's side approached the magic nodes one after another. With the mages' help, they established connections with the nodes through magical arcs of light that drifted like strands of silk, becoming the "node connectors" of the Intervention Array.
As the connections were established, the magic nodes' radiance quickly grew stronger and extended toward both sides, linking with the other nodes. The Intervention Magic Array took shape.
After the completed Intervention Magic Array flickered rhythmically for a while, several dazzling beams of light burst from the nodes and shot toward the Repulsion Magic Array enveloping Presto Fortress.
"Rumble—" The moment the Intervention Array came into contact with the Repulsion Array, a deep roar erupted, as if thunder were surging.
At the same time, the places where the Intervention Array's light met the Repulsion Array's light curtain lit up with brilliant radiance, dazzling even compared to the sun in the sky.
Amid this imposing magical clash, the Repulsion Array's light curtain kept retreating, drawing closer and closer to the city walls.
The Repulsion Array's light curtain had originally been several hundred meters from the walls, but in less than half a minute, the distance had been compressed to under a hundred meters.
Some of the rookie defenders on the city walls grew visibly panicked at the sight.
"Is the Repulsion Magic Array going to be broken?"
Hearing the discussion around him, Gagnor said, "This is only the beginning. The Intervention and Repulsion Arrays will usually engage in fierce combat for at least a day before forming a relatively stable balance."
Sure enough, even as he spoke, the Repulsion Array's light curtain, which had been retreating step by step, suddenly reversed its decline and began pushing back against the Intervention Array's beams.
Gagnor could vaguely see that when the Repulsion Array began pushing back, the Intervention Array's node connectors all looked strained, as if they were engaged in a tug-of-war. The node connectors on his side were probably the same.
The magical offense and defense between the Repulsion and Intervention Arrays continued for the next two days, with the advantage shifting at least a hundred times before gradually settling into stability.
By then, the Repulsion Array's light curtain was roughly a hundred meters from the city walls.
Once the magical clash had reached a stable balance, a mage approached Viscount Uris.
"Lord Uris, the result of the magic arrays' clash has been determined." The mage was very young, and he spoke respectfully to the lord before him.
Viscount Uris was a tall, handsome blond man around thirty years old. He wore plate armor, had a longsword hanging at his waist, and sported a meticulously groomed handlebar mustache.
"How did it turn out?" He gazed at the distant Repulsion light curtain, his brow slightly furrowed. Clearly, he wasn't entirely unaware of the result.
"The Repulsion Magic Array at Presto Fortress originally covered levels one through eight," the mage said. "Through our efforts, we've compressed its repulsion range to levels five through eight. Soldiers below level five can now begin storming the city."
Before you continue